Morning Glow
by IndigoHyacinth
Summary: Lulu and Wakkatheir life in the Eternal Calm.


A/N:

It was kind of weird...Yuna and Rikku talking to Lulu about her baby in X-2, with the designers of the game too lazy to make Lulu look like she was with a child. And then there was Wakka with his so-claimed pudgy stomach.

...

But I digress. 

Here's a bit of pointless cuteness with Wakka and Lulu.

For any readers of ItL in the KH section, I'm working on it ^^;; It's not dead yet (hopefully).

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Those who didn't know them well might have thoughtthem to be an incompatible couple, like pairing the sun and the moon. Just looking at them, it would appearthat their differences outweigh any similarities that might have tiedthem together. It's funny to think that in reality they've been happily married for two years now, and the baby is due in only a few short months. They haven't decided on a name yet.****

Lulu and Wakka have settled down in their home village of Besaid. It's small, not exactly the bustle and sophistication of Luca or Bevelle, but they grew up in the quiet of their isolated island, and they like it. They wentthrough the cities on the pilgrimage and can't imagine spending the rest of their days in such loud, large places. Lulu likes to wake up in the morning to the tranquility of Besaid, basking in the peace of the early hours before the pilgrims and political radicals come to see the High Summoner Yuna begin to crowd up the streets. Looking outside in the mornings, almost everything appears the same as the day they all left on the pilgrimage. It's nice to think that they can always live here, raise their children in this place without ever worrying about a dark shadow rising over the beaches and sweeping their lives away. It's nice to think that they can always leave for a short while and come back without worrying---the village would still be there when they returned. Until two years ago, neither Lulu nor Wakka had ever imagined that such a thing could be possible.

Their lives have been growing since that time. And since the end of the pilgrimage---and the end of the Blitzball season---Wakka has gained weight. Rikku and Yuna like to tease him about it, poking their fingers into his middle like _he's_ the one who'spregnant even though he's really not even that chubby yet. They know he doesn't mind, and it's fun teasing him like the big brother he almost is. Lulu's slightly more pragmatic about the entire thing. She tells him he better start getting back into shape; it's not good for his career or his health. Besides, what will the children think when they realize they have a fat daddy, and captain of the Besaid Aurochs, no less? So Wakka hangs his head sheepishly and goes to join the other blitzers on the beach as they run laps around the island---although they're in no better shape than he is. Lulu and Yuna and Rikku burst into laughter the moment he's out ofthe doorway.

Mostly though, Wakka stays home to dote on Lulu. He'll get up early while she's still sleeping and surprise her with breakfast in bed. Before and after practice, he'll do chores around the house and tell her not to worry about anything, just rest and take care of herself and the baby. Lulu tells him wryly he treats her like she's made of glass. Honestly, he wasn't the only one who survived through a pilgrimage against Sin and Yevon. But in the end she usually lets him do what he wants. She's not sure it's worth the effort of arguing with him, seeing as he can have such a thick skull sometimes. 

To Wakka, it _is _like she is made of glass, although it does not appear thattoo much has changed about her. She still wears black and heavy, elaborate lace and glass and wood necklaces around her neck; she coils the braids around her head like a crown now, instead of letting them fall past her waist, but her face is still stern and composed. She can be like a woman of ice fire when she wants to be, but despite all this, Wakka can't get over the fact that she's carrying _their first child_. He worries if she's tired or hungry or feeling all right...maybe she should stay off her feet more until the baby arrives... he fusses about herlike a mother hen. Lulu finds this quality in him both endearing and frustrating.

It's morning, and Lulu's beat Wakka to the kitchen. She sits at the table sipping from a cup of hot tea and savoring this small victory. Wakka alternates betweenwatching her anxiously and frying up a pan of breaded sweetfruit, which he has insisted on serving her this morning. They make light talk over breakfast about Yuna and all the people who are coming these days to see her and then about the baby that's due soon. When the dishes have been cleared up, Lulu says she will go for a walk. Wakka mutters something about trying not to exert herself too much, giving her stomach a significant look. She glares at him, and he relents, but he asks if he can go with her.

They walk up the steep dirt path to the cliff-side overlooking the village. The sky is pale blue and yellow and white over the quiet village whose inhabitants are only just beginning to awaken and to stir the peace of dawn into day. 

Lulu is silent. She's thinking about how much she missed this village during their long months away on the pilgrimage and how wonderful it will be to be able to raise her children here. To raise children who will never have to fear the monster called Sin... to her, that is true joy.

Beside her, Wakka has one hand on his side and the other against his head in a sort of anxious gesture. He's staring down towards the village but not really looking at it.

"Ya know...two years ago I would have never imagined things would turn out like this. Sin's gone, Yevon's gone, Yuna's High Summoner, and we just might be living in an Eternal Calm..."

Beneath his seemingly inconsequential sentiments, Lulu can tell he's thinking about more than what he's saying. She takes his rough, callused hand and holds it gently against the soft curve of her stomach.

"And you, Wakka, are going to be a father very soon."

Her voice is placid and warm. 

"Heh...ya, that too."

Her pale skin seems almost translucent against his, like crystal, and she's smiling faintly. Wakka finds himself relaxing beneath her steady gaze.

"Can you feel it?" she asks.

There is an uncertain silence, and then his face slowly breaks into a grin. Lulu lets out a little laugh---he looks so happy.

"I do."  


End file.
